West Ham’s Pablo Fornals has revealed the players who have impressed him the most since he arrived at the club.
The Spanish midfielder signed for Hammers in a big-money move from Villarreal last summer as Manuel Pellegrini looked to add creativity to his midfield.
His arrival was one that many believed added further quality to the West Ham squad, which already had several star names in it.
And, asked about who he would name as the best in the squad, the midfielder was quick to pick several of his teammates.
“For me, one of the best in the squad is Felipe Anderson without a doubt,” he told Marca.
“I think he’s a tremendous player and, I don’t know if it was a year ago or two years ago, there were rumours that Spanish clubs were interested.
“Manuel Lanzini is another. He’s a player who gets called up to the Argentina squad so he cannot be a bad player. Then there’s Pablo Zabaleta and his history.
“The captain Mark Noble is a man who has spent 15, 16 seasons playing at the top level and that is not a little.
“A player who I love and would always have on my team is Roberto Snodgrass. He hits the ball spectacularly with his left foot. I’ve never worked with anybody like him.”
Fornals’ first year in the Premier League has not been an easy one, with the Spaniard struggling to hit the levels he managed in Spain thus far.
There have been moments where he has shown his real quality, though, and a record of three goals and five assists in 30 games is a decent one all things considered.
He’s keen to improve on it moving forward and says to do so; he will have to train and work harder.
“Anybody who has followed my season will have seen that I’ve had moments of being ‘the player’.”
“There’s been 12 or 13 good moments, highlights, such as the last game against Liverpool. There have been really enjoyable moments.
“I have to train more, do my best and find that click that would give me the opportunity to be in the starting 11 every week.
“That’s what makes you enjoy your football and fall in love with something different from what you have.”
Whether Fornals gets his chance to do that this season, remains to be seen given the current Coronavirus epidemic spreading across Europe.
The outbreak of the virus has seen the Premier League put on an indefinite halt, with Fornals and his West Ham teammates eagerly waiting to see if the season will be resumed.
There is every chance that it won’t, and he admits he would end it now, although that is not an easy thing to do.
“The only thing that is decided here in England is the title,” he added.
“Liverpool have a cushion and would have already won the league with two more games.
“In our case, Karen Brady called for the season to be ended, which if it happened would mean we are safe.
“But you can’t say that to Norwich or Watford or to any of the other teams at the bottom because if they decide what they want, nobody will be happy.
“It is true that personally would like it to be over. If it does have to be played, it has to be with the least possible risk for fans and for us, we’re people too.”
